Temkin Group's Latest Research Report Reveals a Marked Increase in Spending on Voice of the Customer Programs
Study Shows That Analytics and Mobile Will Become More Important as These Programs Mature

WABAN, Mass., Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Temkin Group released a new research report, State of Voice of the Customer Programs, 2013. The research examines almost more than 180 large companies that have formal voice of the customer (VoC) programs and compares results to similar studies from 2011 and 2012.

For the third straight year, Temkin Group found that an overwhelming number of companies report that VoC programs deliver positive business results. Only 7% of large companies that were surveyed reported poor results from their VoC programs.

The positive results are fueling an increase in focus on VoC. Across all areas examined in the study, more companies plan to increase than decrease their investments. The most spending momentum is with software for managing VoC programs, what Temkin Group calls Customer Insight & Action Platforms, and text analytics. In both of these areas, more than 40% of firms plan to increase spending compared while less that 6% are planning a decrease.

Companies are also expanding the staffing on their VoC teams. Thirty-six percent of companies have more than five full-time employees dedicated to their VoC efforts, up from 31% last year. Sixty percent have three or more employees, which is an increase from 52% in 2012.

"Taking action based on customer insights has enormous ROI," states Bruce Temkin, Managing Partner of Temkin Group. "Most companies are only scratching the surface on the potential value of these efforts. Future VoC efforts will look completely different than they do today."

Temkin Group's research has shown that VoC programs evolve through five levels of maturity, moving from "Novices" through to "Transformers." Only 20% of firms have reached one of the two highest levels of maturity in this year's study, but this represents an increase from 16% last year.

As companies gain more VoC maturity, their efforts will face a new landscape. The study found significant changes coming in VoC programs, as mobile and analytics become more important. The number of companies soliciting feedback via mobile phones has more than doubled from nine percent last year to 20% this year and is poised to continue rising. When asked to estimate the importance of different sources of customer insights three years down the road, more than 70% of respondents said that social media, customer interaction history, and predictive analytics will become more important. Multiple-choice surveys, the historical mainstay of VoC programs, received the least positive outlook.

About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is widely recognized as a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys. Temkin Group combines customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of the dynamics of organizations to help accelerate results. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building four critical competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices across a wide range of activities for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email.

About Bruce Temkin:Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as a customer experience thought leader and is Customer Experience Transformist and Managing Partner of Temkin Group. He is also the author of a very popular blog, Customer Experience Matters® (ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com). Prior to forming Temkin Group, he was a VP at Forrester Research for 12 years. Bruce is a highly demanded speaker who consistently receives high marks for his content-rich, entertaining keynote addresses. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of customer experience management.

Customer experience matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.